The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) has elected Aurora Martinez Jones, associate judge, Travis County, Texas, to the NCJFCJ Board of Directors.
“Judge Martinez Jones exemplifies the future of the NCJFCJ,” said Judge John J. Romero, Jr., NCJFCJ president. “Her extraordinary work for children and families in Austin is a forward-thinking example and a new wave of judicial leadership in the community.”
Aurora Martinez Jones is an appointed associate judge in Travis County (Austin, Texas) and was sworn in on January 2, 2015. She is from La Porte, Texas, a suburb of Houston, and attended college at The University of Texas at Austin where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government and a minor in Spanish. She then attended law school at The University of Texas School of Law and upon receiving her law license; she started her own law firm, The Martinez Jones Law Firm, PLLC. As an attorney, Martinez Jones practiced primarily in child welfare law, personal injury, probate, real estate, family law, and civil litigation.
Judge Martinez Jones is a child welfare law specialist, certified by the National Association of Counsel for Children, and has extensive experience working with parents suffering from drug and alcohol addiction. Currently, her judicial position is dedicated to the child welfare dockets in Travis County including the specialty Family Drug Treatment Court.
She is currently the chair-elect for the Texas Children’s Justice Act Task Force, is the past president of the Austin Black Lawyers Association and is the former chair of the Austin Court Appointed Family Advocates (CAFA). Judge Martinez Jones is active in both the local Austin Bar Association and Texas State Bar through her service on various committees. She is also a Texas Bar Foundation Fellow and a member of the Robert W. Calvert American Inn of Court.
“I have the privilege of working with Judge Martinez Jones daily, presiding over all the dependency cases in our county,” said Judge Darlene Byrne, NCJFCJ past president, Travis County, Texas. “She is a creative, hard working, compassionate, smart, courageous and a tireless advocate and judge for the safety of children and families. With her in this leadership role, I know the NCJFCJ will continue to be strong and remain as the voice for children and families who seek justice in our courts around the nation.”
Judge Aurora Martinez Jones stays active on social media and can be connected with at:
Facebook: @JudgeAuroraMJ
Twitter: @JudgeAurora